One of each

The day for once turned out just as forecast which made life easy and just as well as we had a bit of a vehicle issue to deal with.  Still a bit of going and froeing saw us in the field with all the kit we needed.

Peter F was first on site to continue his Parameter training and got straight down to getting the kit sorted with a look of determination on his face.  Not long after James R arrived to crack on with his Paragliding and got a wing out and did a spot of ground handling and a fine job he did to.

Pete gets set to go

and makes a fine job of it

Peter was soon ready and after a demo' flight he was clipped in a ready to go.  In nice conditions he made it all look pretty easy with a reverse launch , smooth turn around and nice run till his feet were off the ground and he was safely away, excellent for his second only flight.  Even Adie thought it looked good, tempting ....... Whilst Pete buzzed around we got the winch sorted and by the time he came in for a super landing James was ready to play.  As James racked up the tows and worked his way through the instability tasks Pete would give him a rest by having a flight on the parameter, ideal.

Adie checks out James's towing

James's best side ??

 Adie helped out on the bike and have to showed us just why everyone says he is a Cowboy

Chris H came along and joined in on the Hang Glider having worked a morning shift and did an super job as he polished off his remaining CPC tasks including some cracking stalls.  Good to see Chris really starting to enjoy the Hangy as his nerves settle, well done.

Chris just loving his new harness

 So by the end of play we had James and Chris completed on their CPC flying tasks and Peter F just one flight away from his CPC on the Paramotor after some fine flying in what turned out to be very floaty conditions.

 Big thanks to Adie and Kaz for keeping winch end running so smoothly, sorry you couldn't make it Steve ;(

Quote of the day  " it won't come down"

Perfect at Perran

The day looked nice and the breeze set fair so we headed to Perranporth for some hill soaring and tandem flying.  a bit breezier than expected on arrival so out with the Ozone Zero to test the air, it was lovely :)

Katz played on the Zero whilst Paddy built up the courage to give it a go ......  the first of the tandems turned up and with a desire to paraglide rather than hang Glide they were happy to wit to see if the wind would ease a little.  A couple of test flights on my Ozone Delta 2 confirmed things were heading the right way, confirmed by Peachy scraping along the top on his Zero, unfortunate timing.

Jo gets things going on the Tandem paraglider

happily up and away for a cracking flight

Jo who was down on holiday from Taunton did a great job on launch and we were soon up and away with the sky to ourselves on the Tandem Paraglider.  One by one the others came up to join us and it was a fun time waving to the passing pilots as the sky got busier.  Jo had a great flight and gave me a rest by flying the glider herself doing a first class job.  A bit of fun as we rocked and rolled then it was back in on top for a super landing and big smiles.  Great to to Jo and her family stay around to watch proceedings and show a real interest.

Kaz joins us as we float the coast

Jeff turn as we head towards take off

Next long was Jeff who had made the trip down from Liskeard for the occasion.  It was a present to himself for his 72nd birthday which is tomorrow.  a good briefing and slight delay whilst we waited for the wind to see again and we were away into some super lift.  Jeff loved every minute of it and was quite emotional as it had been a desire of his to do something extreme in memory of his brother, a real pleasure to help it happen and to be part of it.  Another cracking flight in amongst the Paragliders sea gulls and hang glider gave us plenty to watch.  Back on top and Jeff was just as excited, brill.

off over the blue

then up in it

Jeff just loving it all

Nice to see a good crowd out having fun  even if a few did have to duck pretty quickly as a Tandem Hangy nearly gave them a hair cut ........  and good to see Frank out again :))

We quit early to go and pick some weed leaving the hill to the arriving Hang Gliders whom i believe had more fun into the evening :))  thanks to Jill for me of the pic's

Quote of the day "we've only just met"  something to do with leg loops ;)

Turned out nice :)

Lovely forecast for some training in the field, the guys arrive and we meet up in the field, the sun goes in and the rain comes down all be it not very heavily. Visibility goes down and we get some theory done,  visibility goes up , rain stops and sun comes out ....... phew :)

Whilst Kaz gets Andrew H (Roche) stated on his Taster day with some PLF's before heading out into the field with a Paraglider Chris H (Sennen) gets the Hangy rigged and Steve B (Paignton) puts in some ground handling on another Paraglider.  With the temperature rising and it getting a little sweaty it was like summer in the field, what a change from a few hours ago.

Andrew gets a bit of help from behind .....

the boys chill out on the mats ....

....and it is all too much for Chris to resist

Sea breeze set in and mid afternoon saw the winch in action and things moving along nicely.  Steve B cracked on with his CPC tasks having completed his EPC by passing his theory exam during the rain.   A solid 8 flights saw him move well into it and each one saw an improvement in his skills, by the end of the day he almost looked like a pilot!

Classic tow by Steve as he heads to the top

and makes a cracking return to earth

Chris H overcame a few nerves after a bit of a lay off from the hang but was soon doing a fine job both on and off the line as he sweetened up his turns, converted to the base bar and got prone flying sorted over his 8 flights not long now......

Chris gets set to go

and makes a fine job of sorting his turns

Last but by far not least Andrew H had a super day ending up with 4 flights including a release one as he got his first experience of flying a Paraglider solo.  Based on what he experienced and a previous tandem flight wit us a few months  ago my guess is we will see him back soon.

Andrew h looks like he is enjoying it

Poser .....

A pretty relaxed day all helped out by Phil L helping out on the bike and the wind staying in one direction, what more can you ask.

Quote of the day " you want any coke?"

The other half

Friday is  normally our day off but with a nice moderate WSW breeze and plenty of sunshine we decided to nip out to Chapel Porth and meet up with Kate and Jo again to hopefully get Kate a flight on the Hangy.

Big G was already in the air when we arrived on his Hangy, a good sign so it was off with the Tandem and a quick rig. By the time it was sorted Big G had landed and the moderate breeze went to a light one.  Kaz went back to the truck and got her Paraglider out which by the time she launched was only just going forward, looking promising then.

Kaz lands, Big G takes off and we join him on the Tandem as conditions improve. Kaz gets in a spot of stall turn training
 then we spot Kate and Jo walking towards take off so nip in to meet them.

Launch on the tandem

The wind continues to fill and by the time Kate is sorted it is classic and we step off into super smooth lift and climb away above the Old Engine house.  What a super flight, with great views, plenty of lift and Kate getting a chance to fly the glider and doing a good job of it too.  It is always good to play with the seagulls and they were in a playful mood so making it even more fun.

Posing over the mine buildings

Super Sea 

Kate looking like she liked it :)

Back on top it was smiles all round before the girls headed off to the cove for an ice cream and we packed away for an afternoon out on the Bonnie' Before heading to the KHPA BBQ where Adie did a fine job of not only organising but also shopping for it and then cooking it and just to round it off he even managed to extract £5.00 from Chairman Phil even if it was in ASDA vouchers!  Thank you Adie :)

nice gloves

Cheers and beers

Quote of the day "one sausage too many"

Cutting back at Carbis

A muggy morning with low cloud and drizzle saw us cancel off teaching for the day which proved a good move as whilst the sun did come out the wind filled in.

As it settled into a moderate NE we opted to head to Carbis Bay for some flying and hopefully a Tandem as well. Meeting up with Peachy on site it was deserted apart from a gang of bulb pickers working in the adjacent field looking like they had their work cut out as they cleared the field by hand.

With it looking more like Hang Gliding and with the field nearly waist high (well I am not over tall) in weeds it was out with the hatchet to cut out a runway and a joint effort between the three of us (Peachy, Phippsy and Kaz) soon saw a good clearing and ideal runway.

Before .....

..... during .......

and after :))))))

The wind eased a little and a test flight on my Delta 2 confirmed it top end but ok.  By the time the Tandems arrived things were even better with Kaz and Peachy floating about nicely.  Jo was soon briefed and ready in the Tandem Paraglider on the now clear launch.  Off we up and away above a stunning blue sea and under a super blue sky.  We played in the lift as the train went by, soaked in the views and had a good chat whilst Jo got a go at flying the glider.  The lift dropped off a little and we got a closer look at the train as it returned from St Ives and another as it came back again from Lelant!  Persistence paid off and we sneaked back up again saving a walk from the beach before arriving back in on top.

Jo,  Phippsy and Kate and a lovely day with lots of blue 

Jo's friend Kate was hoping for a Tandem on the Hangy having already tried Paragliding in Nepal and with the wind still light we opted to wait for a better day.  The rest of the afternoon Peachy and myself shared the air briefly joined by Big G before leaving the site still nicely flyable at 18.30.

Peachy with the sky to himself

If you are heading to Carbis anytime good idea to take something sharp and spend a little time keeping the weeds at bay, still better than picking bulbs!

Quote of the day " Yeeeeeeeehoooooooow"

Happy families

Early start saw us at Chapel Porth with a truck full of kit to cover every eventuality for tandem flights.  A feel of the breeze and we opted to take the Hangues down, arrive at the front and return for the Paragliders, could be one of those days!

Rig the hangies then go flying on a Paraglider it is one of those days ......... Peachy arrives and so does the first of the Tandems, Liam form StAgnes.  Peachy launches and Liam gets briefed up and clipped into the Tandem Paraglider.  Peachy parks up at a couple of hundred feet and starts to get pinned, Big ears and he comes in for a top landing, Liam gets unclipped as white horses appear on the sea.

 Rebrief and we get the hang Glider sorted and before Liam has time to think we are off and away in to nice lift soon seeing us hundreds of feet up in the air.  Liam just loved it and living so close by soaked up the views which were just a little different to the ones he is used to.  Liam takes control of the glider and does a fine job as we cruise the cliffs.  A few stalls and gentle wing overs round off a lovely flight before we pop back in on top for a soft landing, nice.

Liam gets to fly above where he walks a lot

Liam Back on the ground as the first of five

With the rest of the tandems turning up the wind decided to ease back again and it was back up for a test fly on the Paraglider hmmm still a bit top end for Tandems.  A 30 minute chill out to see which way the wind will go was well worth it and it was Kaz off next to test the air on her Hang Glider to test the air for us.  She climbed up nicely and I got the guys and Gal briefed for a Hangy flight.  Tim F (Saltash) was first to go and conditions were now classic giving a super flight, he was followed by Cam and Mike who also had a ball and all of whom had a go at flying the glider and did good jobs of it too.

guess Mike enjoyed it then

Debbie gets her feet off the ground

  Finally it was Debbies (Mikes wife) turn who had had a very long standing desire to fly on a Hang Glider.  We had a cracking flight and Debbie just loved every minute of it as we swooped and dived in the cracking lift.  The flight was rounded off with another nice landing and it was a very happy band of passengers who headed off for ice creams all round ;)

Happy lady after a life long ambition achieved :)

With the work done we tidied up the kit and I got my T2 C out for a play joining Kaz in the air, always nice to fly together.  Nice to see a good crowd out with Andy R, Sam A, Tim J and Big G all out on hangies and Phil L on his mini wing.  Good to see Big G back on a flex wing and looking happy with it.

Chilling with a blast from the past

A fun day and it was a vary flyable site that we left with no one left to fly it at 17.00.

Quote of the day "I don't mind a few pricks"

This, that and the other

Kaz at work

Light winds and sunshine saw us off to the field with a varied group to keep us busy.  Markus H turned up little early as on day one on a Hang Glider we needed to get him up and going before the others arrived.

In the field we got moving quickly and I was soon running around with Markus as he got his first fell of a Hang Glider.  Steve B arrived having not been with us since September for a refresh day as he approaches the end of his Paragliding course and it was  not long before Rodney A and Peter F turned up both on a mission to Paramotor.

Waiting for the wind to settle

Whilst I worked away with Markus Kaz got the others sorted with a bit of ground handling and sweetened up their forward launches.  Chris H joined us a got the Falcon rigged ready to complete his CPC Hang gliding.  The wind messed about a bit so we took the opportunity to get the Power abort runs in with Peter F on the Paramotor.  Pete had done well with his ground handling with the unit on his back but it was a different game with the engine running ;)  It does not take long to get tired at that game and pretty soon he was ready for a rest.

Pete gets to grips with the Paramotor

The wind still played abound Chris's eyes started to run as his Hay fever cut in Big time.  Finally the wind settled and we got the winch going.  Steve B recapped on his flights and got back into the swing of things before finishing his day with a nice high flights to the top. Rodney A continued into his EPC flights and did well as he goes a little higher and the turns build.  Markus gave it his all on the Hangy and had me running across the field hanging on to the king post tether.  A little less thinking and a little more fitness would help him but he did manage a couple of short flights by the end of the day.

Rodney moves a little higher

and Steve even higher

Chris sat it out up with the winch and chased a few sheep but his streaming eyes kept him on the ground which was a good decision.

Finally as the guys derived Peter F gor back into the Paramotor and finished off his power bout runs before going for it.  A hop skip and a jump saw not the cleanest of launches but an acceptable one and he was away for a nice flight around the filed. starting off a little wobbly he soon settled down and loved it before coming in for good stand up landing and a huge smile to round off a fun day.

Quote of the day "AAAAAAAchooooooo"

A day of two halves

As the "heat wave" continues ??? the forecast is good with the chance of an odd shower clearing quickly and mainly in the east so we head to the field..

Steve B is back on the Hangy along with James R and Glen C both on Paragliders return to continue their training.  Everyone gets set up as the skies darken,  just about to set out the winch and a few spots of rain but not for long, that will be the odd shower then.  Out with the winch and in with a test flight, all good.  James get going and is off to the top to settle back in and is followed by Glen on a low level release flight.

Steve ready to go

and looking good

Wind starts to move we move , wind moves rain starts we do theory,  sky looks a black as your hat!  We chat, James takes an exam, sun comes out and in a matter of minutes we have blue sky and nice cumulus. Glen drops his trousers ....................

Wind "settles" into a NE 180 degrees from the forecast and we get towing.  James and Glen progress with their flying and Steve gets the hangy airborne.  Wind moves, we move, i test the air and it is lively as convergence sets up over us, I test the air a bit more ;)

Sound comes out and the sky gets good

Lift drops off, wind moves, we are back where we started but at least it is what was forecast finally.  things get moving with the guys all getting plenty of flying in and Steve sorting his landings, nice.  James rounds off the day with a stunning flight and a Big smile as he soaks in the view.

Glen ready to play

and play he did

 Shame the day dragged on a bit but hey ho there you go, well done to the guys and don't you just love this low numbers teaching, things really get done, heres to the next time.

Quote of the day "Nooooooooo to much information"